Hand-held controls have been provided in the past for controlling V-blade snow plow blades in the various configurations including, for example, the Vee condition, Scoop condition, Raise and Lower conditions, etc. Such prior art hand-held controls have been complicated and time-consuming and confusing to the user.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved hand-held control for V-blade snowplows which is less complicated, more easily used and more ergonomically compliant.
According to the invention, a key pad of a V-blade hand-held control is laid out so that the operator""s thumb can press and activate two wing buttons simultaneously to achieve a combination of the individual button functions. Furthermore, this can be done by holding the hand-control with the same hand. For example, the extend Right Wing and extend Left Wing are located right next to each other so that both can be pressed simultaneously with the thumb or one finger. The resulting function, Scoop, moves both blade wings out. As a further example, the extend Right Wing and retract Right Wing are also located immediately next to each other so that both can be pressed simultaneously with the thumb or one finger, and the resulting function, Angle Right, extends the Left Wing and retracts the Right Wing. The control buttons are illuminated function indicia so that it is easy to use, even at night.
Thus, the invention provides hand-held control device for a V-blade plow in which left and right plow blade wings are pivotally mounted on a vertical pivot on a vehicle mounting frame and actuated about the vertical pivot by electric switch-controlled hydraulic actuators, there being an electric switch to control the extension of a hydraulic actuator, respectively, and an electrical switch for controlling retraction of the hydraulic actuator, respectively. Each electrical switch has an associated thumb actuator, the thumb actuators being in an array so that an operator""s thumb or finger can actuate two thumb actuators simultaneously while gripping the hand-held control device with the same hand. The plow includes a third hydraulic actuator for raising and lowering the frame relative to ground and an electric switch pair for controlling extension and retraction, respectively, of the third hydraulic actuator. There are first, second, third, fourth and fifth thumb actuators and their associated first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth electrical switches in the array and the common actuator. Actuation of the switches result in wing positionings according to the following schedule: